Canadian Lawyer

UPFRONT 4 www.canadianlawyermag.com NEWS BRIEFS B.C. Court of Appeal ZcXi`Ô\j enforceability of forum j\c\Zk`feZcXlj\j In Schuppener v. Pioneer Steel Manufacturers Limited, a man was injured when a steel storage building he bought collapsed on him. He sued the company for negligence and breach of contract. As the contract had a forum selection clause, the company successfully applied to have the action moved to Ontario. "What this decision, I think, has helpfully done is clarify the standard that has to be met in order for considerations to rise to the high level of public policy, sufficient to justify judicial intervention with freedom of contract," says Matthew Nied, principal at Nied Law - Litigation Counsel, who acted for the appellant. Vancouver lawyer to jlggfik Canadian team in GXiXcpdg`Z>Xd\j Josh Vander Vies, founder of Versus Law Corporation, won a bronze medal for doubles boccia at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. This year, in Tokyo, he will serve Canada as assistant chef de mission on the support team. Because he is bilingual, he will also serve as the team's official spokesperson in French. "An electric wheelchair user born without much of his arms and legs, he has more experience than most in identifying individual and collective issues, and knowing when to engage each," states his website. CXnjfeCle[\cc partner named gi\j`[\ekf]k_\ B.C. Law Society for 2020 Craig Ferris is now heading up the B.C. Law Society as president. He has been a partner at Lawson Lundell for more than two decades and currently heads the firm's commercial litigation group. Ferris focuses his practice on commercial and business litigation. He has advised clients in cases involving pensions, securities, insurance, product liability, mining and real estate. He has also handled private arbitrations and class actions. Aside from appearing in all levels of court in B.C., he has also appeared in the Supreme Court of Canada. Retiring judge known for commitment to Z_`c[n\c]Xi\# d\ekXc_\Xck_ British Columbia Provincial Court Justice Thomas Gove made headlines in 1995 by leading the inquiry into the death of Matthew Vaudreuil — a five-year-old killed by his mother. The Gove Inquiry into Child Protection in B.C. found Vaudreuil's death was partly caused by an inadequate child protection system and led to major reforms, including the creation of the Ministry for Children and Family Development. Gove was also integral in the launch of Vancouver's Downtown Community Court, which integrates the justice system with health and social services. Two Alberta- YXj\[cXn Ôidjd\i^\ Two Alberta-based law firms, YYC Employment Law Group and Getz Collins & Associates, have merged to form Collins Dugandzic LLP, a full-service regional law boutique. Following the merger, which took effect on Jan. 1, the firm will continue to go by the name YYC Employment Law Group for its employment law division in Calgary, while also providing services related to other legal matters in its Calgary and Strathmore offices. Owing to its focused employment law division, the new firm is expected to be well equipped to assist workers struggling in southern Alberta's economic climate. :_Xik\i directly Xggc`\jkf Le`m\ij`kp abortion gifk\jk Decision shows unusual lack of deference to University administrative decision-making, says lawyer IN A CASE stemming from a campus demonstration against abortion, the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled the Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies directly to how the University of Alberta facilitates the exercise of freedom of expression on school property. In 2015, the University of Alberta student group Pro-Life used the university's public area, known as the Quad, to hold a demonstration against abortion. The group displayed large photographs of dismembered fetuses and was met by counter-protestors who used their own signs and banners to block Pro-Life's placards from view. Group members filed a complaint against indi- vidual counter-protestors with the university, alleging breaches of the school's University Code of Student Behaviour, but the school opted for taking no disciplinary action against any of the counter-protestors. Later, when Pro-Life requested permission for another protest, the university responded with a condition that the group either give the school $17,500 to pay the cost of security WEST UPDATE

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